I See through Everything

Meanwhile.

Lü Weibin was in Xishan Village, on the north side of Gongping Town’s urban area, with Gongping Town’s mayor, Chen Guohui.

Chen Guohui was all smiles as he pointed to a large stretch of wasteland west of National Highway 236. "Manager Lü, is your company satisfied with this piece of land?"

"It looks very good." Lü Weibin observed through a pair of binoculars. The land was close to the highway, and directly across from it was the Gongping Reservoir, which would make accessing water very convenient.

"If your company decides on this location, we can begin the land acquisition process at any time." Over the past few months, Chen Guohui had come to understand the true strength of the Hailufeng Company.

Of the more than 40,000 mu of mountainous land Gongping Town had approved for them, 3,000 mu had been transformed in less than two months. Including the areas that didn’t require modification, the total area of high-standard terraced fields now available for use had already exceeded 10,000 mu.

And by the looks of it, the Hailufeng Company was playing for real.

In fact, Chen Guohui no longer doubted the Hailufeng Company’s capabilities. After all, many companies claimed to be investing but were sometimes just trying to scam subsidies or, if publicly listed, create fancy presentations to swindle shareholders.

But the Hailufeng Company hadn’t asked Hai Feng County for any subsidies, only a tax reduction from Shanmei City. Since it wasn’t a publicly traded company, such a massive investment clearly indicated a genuine intention to invest locally.

Besides, the city government had already notified him. If he dared to neglect the Hailufeng Company again, he’d be choosing the hard way after refusing the easy way.

"Town Mayor Chen, this location is good. Our factory will need at least 1,000 mu, with 1,200 mu as a safe bet. If we run into any particularly difficult villagers, we can consider avoiding their farmland," Lü Weibin shared his thoughts.

"1,200 mu? No problem. Give us one month, and we will have this land acquired," Chen Guohui guaranteed with conviction.

But Lü Weibin knew that one month was too rushed. A forceful approach could lead to some undesirable situations, so he smiled and shook his head.

"There’s no rush, and it doesn’t have to be in Xishan Village. Other places are also fine. Town Mayor Chen, you can start by communicating with Xishan Village. It’s best to talk with all the villagers whose land is involved. If there’s widespread opposition from them, we’ll just switch to a different location."

"That works too." Chen Guohui also knew that land acquisition was a troublesome affair. Villagers in some places weren’t always cooperative.

Lü Weibin added a condition: "In addition, our company can also promise to hire one suitable employee from each household affected by the land acquisition. Of course, this will go through our formal hiring process. It’s not an iron rice bowl; if they violate our company’s regulations in the future, they will be dealt with accordingly."

"Don’t worry, Manager Lü. I will make this clear to the villagers."

"No problem. Take your time. As long as the location is confirmed before next June, it’s fine."

In reality, Lü Weibin was more inclined to build the factory in places near the Durian Plantation, like Gaobei Village, Xiadong Village, Hudan Village, Lianhe Village, Xikeng Village, or Hengkeng Village.

In those areas, the Hailufeng Company had a foundation of support among the masses. After all, many villagers from these places already worked for the company. If they needed to acquire land there, the villagers would more or less show them some respect.

However, Xishan Village, which was in the core area of Gongping Town, had no business dealings with the Hailufeng Company. The villagers there would most likely not be very cooperative.

If the land acquisition process became a chaotic mess, the Hailufeng Company would rather switch to a different location.

Lü Weibin, Chen Guohui, and their group spent over three hours touring parts of Gongping Town suitable for factory construction, ultimately shortlisting three potential locations.

These were: Xishan Village to the north of Gongping Town; Xinzai Village to the south of Gongping Town; and Gaoshan Village, which is administered by Gaobei Village.

The factory would be divided into two parts. One part would be for processing durians, and the other would be a fodder processing plant for Purple Alfalfa and white alfalfa.

Of the options, the one Lü Weibin favored most was Gaoshan Village in Gaobei Village. Although it was a mountainous area, there were many low-lying hills nearby that could be developed. Furthermore, it was located in the center of the durian-producing region, making it convenient to transport the fruit to the factory.

Once the durians arrived at the factory, they would just need to be sorted, soaked in turmeric powder-infused water, and then a portion of the lower-grade fruit would be allowed to ripen before being processed into durian puree.

This meant that shortening the transport distance as much as possible could reduce the consumption of manpower and material resources.

Coincidentally, their last stop was Gaoshan Village.

So, Lü Weibin took the opportunity to visit Nanshe Ridge Farm, where Gaoshan Village was located.

The pickup truck drove onto a dirt road in a mountain pass between the terraced fields. Up on a terrace halfway up the mountain, Gao Xiangyang immediately spotted the truck. He knew at once that people from the company had arrived. He quickly called the team leader of his group to take over the cable car controls for him as he hurried down.

He arrived at the foot of the mountain.

"Xiangyang, are you getting used to the work?"

"Manager Lü, yes, I’m used to it."

Looking at Gao Xiangyang, who was tanned as dark as charcoal, Lü Weibin knew how hard they had worked. "Once the farm is fully built, you may all receive the virtual shares you’ve earned by the end of the year."

Employees like Gao Xiangyang were formerly from Nanhu Farm. Having worked at the company for just over a year, they were eligible to be allocated virtual shares.

When it came to encouraging employees to work hard, Lü Weibin also favored his boss’s method: giving them cold, hard cash instead of preaching about dedication, feeding them chicken soup for the soul, or making empty promises.

Material reward is the key to winning people’s hearts.

After glancing at the farm’s condition, Lü Weibin turned his head and asked, "Xiangyang, when you have a moment in the next few days, try to sound out the local villagers’ attitude toward our company building a factory nearby."

"The company plans to build the durian and fodder plants here?" Gao Xiangyang was a little surprised.

Lü Weibin shook his head. "It’s not decided yet, but I’m more optimistic about this place. After all, we don’t have a base of support in the other two locations, which makes land acquisition too troublesome."

Gao Xiangyang knew how the Hailufeng Company had handled land acquisition in Xinxiang and Salt Town. With the cooperation of a large number of company employees, the work could be completed easily. He nodded in agreement.

"That’s true. If it’s near Gaoshan Village, this area is all our farm. Plus, we’re about to hire a large number of locals. Persuading them to cooperate with the land acquisition would be the least difficult."